Checkout.com highlights importance of payment and revenue optimization

In the MENA region’s rapidly evolving digital economy, a large opportunity still remains for merchants to improve their bottom line through digital payments, according to a report released by Checkout.com. The ‘Seizing the Digital Opportunity in MENA 2023’ report— part of Checkout.com’s annual MENA Report series—acknowledges how the region’s digital economy has moved from strength to strength in recent years, but suggests that merchants’ ability to fine-tune their payment performance is a decisive factor in retaining their competitive edge.

With that in mind, the report offers a guide to help merchants better capture the opportunities of digital transformation. This includes exploring how to take payments to the next level through AFTs, putting data at the heart of payments strategies, keeping fraud at bay, and partner models for expanding digital commerce platforms. The report includes notable contributions from executives at companies such as Visa, Al-Futtaim Group, Azadea Group, and others.

The rise of digital payments in the MENA region has resulted in the need for businesses to collect and analyze digital payment data.

This data has the potential to drive revenue benefits for businesses, from optimizing the checkout process to evaluating internal processes and operations. Despite 49% of survey participants reporting access to payment data, a significant number of merchants in KSA and UAE are not able to turn it into actionable insights.

The report shows that 75% of merchants in the UAE and KSA measure payments optimization KPIs, including authorization rates, chargebacks, downtime, and fees, as part of their overall financial performance. By understanding their payments data, merchants can also unlock significant cost savings by identifying costs such as scheme fees, interchange, markup, or real-time FX fees.

Sony Middle East and Africa introduces new car AV receiver and power amplifiers

Sony Middle East and Africa announced the newest additions to its Mobile ES lineup including car AV receiver XAV-9000ES and power amplifiers XM-8ES and XM-6ES. Like all the previous Mobile ES™ products, the new models feature high-resolution audio with pure detail that brings studio-quality sound right to your car.

The XAV-9000ES offers a sleek, high definition 6.75-inch touchscreen showcasing hi-res audio and visual, perfect for customers who are looking for a premium quality media receiver that could fit their cars’ double DIN space, allowing for seamless, sleek and flush mount installation.

The XM-8ES and XM-6ES, which are sister products of the already released XM-5ES, XM-4ES, XM1ES, will be perfect for users with more versatile needs. These amplifiers offer increased number of inputs/ outputs in compact size, which will help with customers installing with small footprints.